Aircrafts typically comprise several distinct compartments separated from each other by wall structures. In particular, such compartments generally comprise compartments arranged one above the other and separated by a floor structure, for example a passenger compartment arranged above a cargo compartment or cargo bay. In this connection it may be desirable to utilize, process or handle objects in a monument mounted in the upper compartment, but to store these objects in the lower compartment prior to their use, processing or handling in order to maximize the space available in the upper compartment.
In the case of the upper compartment being a passenger compartment storing such objects in the lower compartment provides the advantage of maximizing the space available for seating passengers, thereby increasing profitability and flexibility in selecting an optimum cabin arrangement. Further, in the case of the lower compartment being a cargo compartment the advantage is provided that loading the objects into the aircraft is facilitated and may be carried out in accordance with standard cargo loading procedures.
One particular example for this situation is a monument which is an aircraft galley. Such galley is mounted on a floor structure in the passenger compartment of an aircraft, and the catering goods, such as food and beverages, are often loaded in boxes and/or trolleys into the aircraft and stored in a storage rack arrangement in the galley or in a separate storage rack arrangement located within the passenger compartment. Thus, in this case considerable passenger compartment space is wasted by a storage rack arrangement. It has, therefore, been suggested to dispense with the storage rack arrangement in the passenger compartment, and to utilize instead a storage rack arrangement located in the cargo compartment below the passenger compartment. In particular, such storage rack arrangement may be provided in a removable cargo container, which can be loaded into the cargo compartment together with other conventional cargo containers. Thus, boxes and trolleys with catering goods can advantageously be stored into the storage rack arrangement outside the aircraft.
In any case, it is necessary to provide for a mechanism for vertically lifting objects to be utilized, processed or handled in or by the monument mounted in the upper compartment from the lower compartment, i.e. in a direction perpendicularly or transversely to the floor structure. For this purpose, an aperture or opening is provided in a portion of the floor structure below the monument. A manual or automatic means must be provided for placing objects to be lifted at a defined location in the lower compartment where they can be engaged or grabbed by the lifting mechanism, or the lifting mechanism must be movable in the horizontal direction, i.e. along the extension of the floor structure. In the example of the galley and the use of a storage rack arrangement in a cargo container an opening or aperture must be provided in the upper wall portion of the container to allow for access of the lifting mechanism to the boxes and/or trolleys stored inside the container.
Such lifting mechanisms tend to take up space in the monument and to put high demands on the strength of the portions of the aircraft to which the lifting mechanism is mounted. For the latter reason existing lift systems intended for lifting loads over more than one deck of an aircraft are constructed as self-supporting systems, which are coupled to the primary and secondary structure of the aircraft and introduce stress directly into these structures. In particular, it is known to construct lift systems as crane-type lift devices having a cantilevered arm and being of great strength and weight and large dimensions. Therefore, considerable modifications to monuments were necessary when desiring to use them with a lift mechanism.